United States

Administrative cooperation, Administrative obligations, Common Reporting Standard, Exchange of Information, FATCA, Germany, India, International Tax Law, Law enforcement, Mandatory disclosure, Personal income tax, Residence, Tax Treaties, United Kingdom, United States

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

HMRC v Embiricos [2020] UKUT 370 (TC) reflects a common issue that arises in connection with tax investigations or audits of internationally mobile individuals. Mr Embiricos  filed his tax returns on the basis that he was resident, but not domiciled in the UK. On that basis, he was entitled to the remittance basis of taxation….

Digital services tax, Equalization levy, India, United States

(Managing Partner at BMR Legal) and (BMR Legal)/ /1 Comment

Introduction One of the key reasons highlighted by OECD imploring the urgent need for consensus on digital tax under its Inclusive Framework were the repercussions arising on account of unilateral digital taxes. Recent reports released by the United States Trade Representative (‘USTR’) reveal that such concerns are real and carry ominous ramifications. A case in…

Residence, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Withholding Taxes

(Reinarz Tax & Legal)/ /Leave a comment

With a judgment rendered on 27 November 2020 (case no. 2C_835/2017), the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (“FSC”) confirmed a decision by the Federal Administrative Court (“FAC”) of 24 August 2017 (decision no. A-1462/2016) concerning an individual tax residence matter that arose in the context of certain dividend withholding tax (WHT) refund requests, which had been…

Ruling, Transfer Pricing, United States

(Managing Partner at BMR Legal) and (BMR Legal)/ /Leave a comment

Purpose of the blog: To analyze the recent ruling of the US tax court (‘the Court’) in the case of The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC). Ruling: The US Tax Court, for the years 2007-09, ruled TCCC was under-compensated by its associated enterprises (AEs) for the use of intellectual property, and confirmed an addition of approximately USD…

Abuse of law, Abuse of rights, Anti-tax avoidance, Corporate income tax, EU law, EU/EEA, Finance, GAAR, International Tax Law, M&A and Reorganizations, MLI, MNE Profits, Permanent Establishments, Principal purpose test, Principal/ancillary arrangements, Profit allocation methods, Tax Avoidance, Transfer Pricing, United Kingdom, United States

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

When the UK introduced its diverted profits tax, I was telephoned by a lawyer at the US Treasury. He wanted to know whether the “just and reasonable” apportionment of profits, in certain circumstances where DPT applied, was a new development? What did it mean? I was reminded of that discussion this week as a result…

Anti-tax avoidance, Beneficial ownership, EU law, EU/EEA, GAAR, Ireland, Permanent Establishments, State Aid, United States

(Taxdirector.nl)/ /Leave a comment

With the General’s Court ruling on July 15, 2020, a first step has been taken in the question whether the Irish government has provided Apple with State Aid. So far, the General Court has ruled that the Commission has not been able to prove that the Irish government has provided State Aid to Apple. The…

MNEs, OECD, Transfer Pricing, United Nations, United States

(University of Lausanne)/ /Leave a comment

Duplicate activities? Duplicate services are defined in the 2017 Transfer Pricing Guidelines (TPG) of the OECD as “activities undertaken by one group member that merely duplicate a service that another group member is performing for itself, or that is being performed for such other group member by a third party.” [1] Those activities are expressively…

Common Reporting Standard, Exchange of Information, FATCA, Financial institutions, Tax Avoidance, Tax Policy, Trusts and Estates, United States

(DCIT, Foreign Tax and Tax Research Division, Government of India)/ /2 Comments

In the 1980s, a new dimension to profit shifting was introduced in the United States through the establishment of Onshore Offshore Banks. New legislation (called the International Banking Facility (IBF)) allowed banks in the US to maintain two separate sets of accounts. One set capturing all transactions with residents of USA which would be subject…

Beneficial ownership, Financial institutions, Foundations, India, Tax Avoidance, Tax Policy, Trusts and Estates, United States

(DCIT, Foreign Tax and Tax Research Division, Government of India)/ /Leave a comment

It is widely accepted that the United States of America is one of the most litigious countries on earth. As of 2010, US residents spent about 2.2% of their GDP (approximately 310 Billion Dollars) annually on litigation costs[1]. There are more lawyers per capita in the United States that any other country in the world….

Double Taxation, EU law, EU/EEA, International Tax Law, Ireland, MNE Profits, OECD, Permanent Establishments, Tax Treaties, Transfer Pricing, United States

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

Two cases, currently before different courts highlight long-standing questions around the attribution of profits to permanent establishments. Irish and United Kingdom law on the attribution of profits to branches of non-resident companies remined identical for decades until 2003. In each country, a non-resident company trading through a branch in that country was chargeable to corporation…

India, International Tax Law, Permanent Establishments, POEM, Residence, Royalties, United States, VAT

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

While earthlings are grappling with taxation in a digitalised world, a new and important frontier has been opening up somewhat less observed. Commercial exploitation of space has become commonplace and plans for activity beyond our planet more ambitious. At the IFA Permanent Scientific Committee  we are always looking ahead to see where cutting-edge tax issues…

BEPS, Double Taxation, Hybrids, International Tax Law, MLI, OECD, Residence, Tax Treaties, Treaty shopping, United States

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

Commissioner of Taxation v Resource Capital Fund IV LP [2019] FCAFC 51 addressed a number of fundamental international tax issues. The case concerned a gain from the sale of shares in an Australian incorporated public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange by two Cayman Island limited partnerships whose partners included residents of the United…

Tax Policy, Transfer Pricing, United States

(Texas A&M University Law)/ /Leave a comment

In a double take two-to-one decision because of a withdrawn decision due to the death of a judge, a Ninth Circuit panel in Altera reversed a unanimous en banc decision of the Tax Court that the qualified cost sharing arrangements (QCSA) regulations[1] were invalid under the Administrative Procedure Act.[2]  The renown Professor Calvin Johnson (Texas) and I shared comments on this case. Professor Johnson’s…

Anti-tax avoidance, BEPS, International Tax Law, United States

(University of Michigan)/ /2 Comments

The financial crisis of 2008 and the Great Recession that followed led to millions losing their jobs and their homes. In Europe, the governments reacted to the pressure on the Eurozone by imposing austerity and sharply cutting the social safety net. While the Obama Administration made no such cuts, the size of the US fiscal…